The process by which the COMMIOS team reached their conclusions about the Loch Borralie bones is as interesting as the conclusions themselves, because it illustrates how modern archaeological science works when confronted with ambiguous physical evidence.

The original analysis of the Loch Borralie bones, conducted following the 2000 excavation, had concluded that the marks on the bones were animal-made.

This was not a failure of the original investigators; it was a reasonable interpretation given the evidence available and the analytical frameworks in use at the time.

Archaeological science has advanced considerably in the past twenty-five years, and the tools and methods available to the COMMIOS team were not all available to the original analysts.

The re-examination involved detailed microscopic analysis of the mark morphology — the specific shapes, orientations, and cross-sectional profiles of the marks visible on the bone surfaces.